March 28, 2023 pm
As of midday, precipitation had spread down the Sierra Nevada as far south as Fresno County. Doppler radar was depicting a rain shadow developing along the west side. High winds are also creating all kinds of problems in northern California. A CalTrans weather station northeast of San Jose has recorded a wind gust of 75 mph, Los Gatos 67 mph. winds are also picking up along the west side of the valley where Panoche Rd in western Fresno County was reporting winds gusting to 35 mph. significant differences in pressure are apparent over northern and central California. The latest altimeter reading up at Eureka was 29.71 inches of mercury while at Fresno and Bakersfield the current reading is 30.01. rain will spread down the valley during the late afternoon and evening hours along with gusty southeasterly winds. Rain will continue at times into Wednesday morning. Thunderstorms are possible Wednesday afternoon and evening as a pool of cool, unstable air settles overhead as the parent low moves southward just to our west. Lingering showers are possible for a time Thursday morning with dry weather Thursday afternoon through the weekend. The eastern Pacific high has been centered considerably further west than is typical. That trend will continue through much of next week. a strong northwesterly wind flow aloft will guide storms through the Pacific Northwest, clipping northern California from time to time. One of these systems will dig a bit further south Monday for a chance of showers, mainly over the mountains. Models are also showing another system affecting central California beginning about a week from Friday.
Forecast: Periods of rain into Wednesday morning. Showers Wednesday afternoon and night. Thunderstorms will be possible Wednesday afternoon and evening. A chance of showers for a time Thursday morning, especially in the south valley. Partly cloudy Thursday afternoon through Friday morning. Mostly clear to occasionally partly cloudy Friday afternoon through Sunday. Increasing cloudiness Sunday night. A minimal chance of light showers Monday, mainly near the foothills. Partly cloudy Monday night and Tuesday.
Temperatures:
| Madera 43/60/37/59 | Reedley 44/61/37/60 | Dinuba 41/59/37/60 |
| Porterville 44/59/37/59 | Lindsay 43/59/37/58 | Delano 45/61/39/60 |
| Bakersfield 48/60/43/58 | Taft 47/59/42/58 | Arvin 45/59/41/59 |
| Lamont 46/60/43/59 | Pixley 43/60/38/59 | Tulare 41/59/37/59 |
| Woodlake 41/60/38/60 | Hanford 42/60/40/61 | Orosi 41/59/37/59 |
Wind Discussion: Strong winds are currently buffeting northern California. Breezy conditions have worked down the valley as far south as Hanford. Winds are generally out of the southeast at 10 to 20 mph with generally light winds further south. Gusty southeast winds will continue into Wednesday morning, generally in the 10 to 20 mph range. Local gusts to near 30 mph are possible along the west side. Winds Wednesday afternoon through Thursday will be generally out of the northwest at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing and becoming light and variable Thursday night through Friday.
Rain: As of 1:00pm, rain and snow had spread down the Sierra Nevada as far south as Fresno County. On the valley floor, rain had spread down to Merced County. All this is ahead of a cold front which will spread rain down the valley during the late afternoon and evening hours. Rain will continue at times into Wednesday morning, turning to showers Wednesday afternoon and Wednesday night. Blended model information gives a 21% chance of thunderstorms in Fresno County Wednesday afternoon and evening. Lingering showers may last into Thursday morning with dry weather Thursday afternoon through the weekend. Rainfall amounts from the current storm from now through Thursday morning still looks good….50 to .75…with locally more where thunderstorms form. A quarter to a third of an inch can be expected along the west side of the valley. Upwards to a quarter of an inch is likely over the valley portion of Kern County. After the weekend, our next chance of rain is Monday as a weakening trough of low pressure moves through. After Monday, it may be Friday or Saturday of next week before we see a real chance of precipitation.
Frost Discussion. All locations will continue above freezing for the remainder of the week. the air mass behind the current storm will lower temperatures into the mid to upper 30s Friday and Saturday with coldest locations down to 33 or 34 or so. Currently, there’s no suggestion of a particularly cold weather pattern on the horizon, though temperatures will largely remain below average.
Next report: March 29 morning
At John Hibler Weather Forecasting, it is our goal to provide the most accurate forecasts available. Weather forecasting, unlike any other business, invites errors. Weather, by nature, is chaotic. It is our goal to be as accurate as humanly possible.